“There’s no place like home!”, I believe the saying goes, and this modest migrant family from China proves it applies even when home is an abandoned public toilet in the city of Shenyang.

Zeng Lingjun was born in a small village, in the Jilin Province of Northeastern China. As a boy, he dreamed of one day attending college, but because his family was too poor he had to abandon his dream and settle for becoming a cobbler and repair shoes for a living. But just because he couldn’t afford to go to college, didn’t mean he was willing to spend the rest of his life in his village. He had bigger plans for himself, so one day, with just 50 yuan ($8) in his pocket, he left for Shenyang, the biggest city in northeast China. Being a hard worker and a skilled cobbler helped Zeng make a living in the big city, and he was soon earning around 2,000 yuan (315) per month. But this wasn’t enough for him to get his own place.

Opened in the early 1900s, this Victorian toilet has served visitors of Scarborough Beach, for decades, but it’s now become one of the most popular houses in the area.

Tracy Woodhouse and Graham Peck decided the public toilet would make a great house, as soon as they heard the lease for the building was available, five years ago. They found an architect who’s housing design maintained the original design and character of the building, so the authorities gladly approved the project.

They’ve spent around $53,000 reconditioning and refurbishing the old public toilet, and even worked on it themselves, in their spare time. After top-to-bottom rebuilding, their house is now the talk of the town. Their lounge is where the men’s bathroom used to be, and their bedroom stands where there once was the ladies room.

Friends often make fun of the couple, saying they live in a lavatory, but they don’t mind, and actually become amused themselves. But what matters most is they now have a cozy house of their own, with a spectacular view over the North Bay.

The two expected people to be amused, or even shocked, but one thing they didn’t expect was to receive offers for their toilet house. So far, they have three.